When I stuck my head out of the tent, two happy smiles met me: Thorbjørn and Tommy were already enjoying our first morning at the RIAT camp site. We had five tents, set up in a circle, and it was very practical. We called it the OY-camp.
Tommy and Thorbjørn had all the necessary cookware, and quickly offered a cup of coffee to the team:
After breakfast, we walked down to the RIAT aerodrome. This year the Royal Air Force celebrated 100 years anniversary, and the place was packed with people.
RIAT is the world’s largest military air show, held annually at RAF Fairford. The show typically attracts more than 150.000 spectators over the weekend.
Lancaster doing a low pass:
Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber. The first flight was in 1941, and over 7.000 were produced. Today, there are only 17 surviving and largely intact Lancasters known to exist. Two of them are airworthy; one based in the UK, and the other one is in Canada.
Static display was also interesting. Tiger Moth, Tutor, Hawker Fury, to name a few:
The runway is quite close to the public at RIAT, and gives good opportunities for taking pictures:
The event was very well organized. There were 4 entrances, baggage drop-off zones, and several parking lots. Two thousand (!) volunteers worked 4 weeks to make this event happen. They did a great job.
Food and drinks were everywhere, many different options, even fresh fruit and berries. And no long queues. Many tables and benches, also under huge tents – in case of a rain. Large grass areas made it comfortable and easy to watch the air show.
The Red Arrows on take-off:
They did an excellent show. It was difficult to capture it on a mobile phone’ camera, but it wasn’t less enjoyable because of that.
It was also possible to come on-board of some of the exhibited aircraft. The C-17A Globemaster III was one of them. It is the newest most flexible cargo aircraft in the US. Cost: 222 million USD.
The Flypast was cancelled, but there were many other superb aircraft entertaining us.
All pilots showed their supreme skills in the air. Though some of the elements were the same, the performances were simply stunning. Sukhoi SU-27P from the Ukrainian Air Force after landing:
And this is a run-up of the Frecce Tricolori, the Italian Air Force aerobatics team:
They did a passionate show that started from the Italian National Anthem. Then there were Pavarotti and Bocelli songs, and at the end they made the largest Italian flag in the world – 5 km of coloured smoke in the air.
All performing teams and solo pilots had their own speakers which made the show more interesting. All spectators were encouraged to meet the pilots in person after their performances.
B-1B Lancer below, a swing-wing strategic bomber is the fastest and most potent manned component of USAF Global Strike Command. Wing span 41.8 m. Top speed 1.335 km/h. The crew consists of 4 persons: pilot, co-pilot, weapons officer, and a defensive systems officer.
The 2018 show featured 302 aircraft from 43 air arms and 30 nations.
After the air show, I went out with my dear friend Nadeem, who came from London to meet me. We haven’t seen each other for about three years, and we so happy to meet again! We drove to the nearest pub for dinner:
When I later returned to my group, there was a very nice atmosphere and after-dinner drinks at the OY-camp:
